


Dance Me To the End

by rea_p



Series: Citizens of Cardiff [2]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Torchwood
Genre: Cardiff, Dancing, Fun, Gen, Roald Dahl Plass, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-24
Updated: 2007-04-24
Packaged: 2017-10-14 16:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/151281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rea_p/pseuds/rea_p
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little dancing, a little music, a little champagne - all on  the roofs of Torchwood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance Me To the End

**Author's Note:**

> This exists in the same universe as "Every Second Tuesday", but it doesn't matter which you read first.  
> Playlist I created to write this is at the end.

Evening, May, downtown Cardiff, Wales. Near the Millennium Centre, a strange thing has happened. A red chaise lounge, a small table, and a 1930s-style radio have been set up (conveniently near an outside power source). There’s a woman in a long green dress, vintage, lounging on the only seat, while a man in 1930s evening clothes pours four glasses of champagne. Two more people are in 1930s clothes, a woman and a man. This woman wears oyster. The radio sputters to life; Cole Porter is playing the piano and singing “You’re the Top”.

Ianto has been watching them set up on the CCTV, slowly joined by Tosh and Gwen, who are bored. Owen is out getting dinner, and Jack is reading some old files. “I wonder what’s on the radio?” Tosh says.

Jack appears behind them. “Let’s find out,” he says, grinning, and gestures to the invisible lift. Tosh and Gwen exchange a look, Gwen shrugs, and they all go to stand on the strange piece of pavement.

They hit the evening in time to hear “You’re Whistler’s Momma! You’re Camembert!” The four alien-catchers become another small group of people watching the anachronistically dressed partiers.

Cole Porter finishes up the song with a few cheerful keystrokes. Immediately the music changes, a flute starts up, and suddenly Danny Kaye’s voice floats out of the speakers, declaring that “the best things happen when you’re dancing”. The woman in oyster and one of the men — ginger haired — set down their glasses and start to dance, easily. Professionals, or very enthusiastic amateurs, the crowd assumes. Soon the other couple is dancing, as well; the skirts of the women drift elegantly as they move.

Tosh sighs, but doesn’t notice Jack quirking an eyebrow in her direction.

When the chorus joins Danny Kaye in singing the lyrics, the first pair splits away from each other in a smooth move, the woman heading off in one direction and the man towards the Torchwood cluster. He holds out a hand to Tosh, who looks at Gwen, Ianto, and Jack, confused. Jack laughs, saying “Go on!” She’s led on to the impromptu dance floor, nervous as anything, but her partner proves to be an excellent leader and the steps simple.

When the song ends, the hosts confer with their new partners, encouraging them to find someone new to dance with. New couples tentatively come forward. Drum beats start, and Jack suddenly perks up. When Ella sings “Like the beat, beat, beat of the tom-tom,” he grabs Gwen’s hand and leads her, protesting, out to dance.

“I can’t dance!” she argues.

“Doesn’t matter, I can,” he grins. And he can dance. Smooth movements, as skilled as the apparent professionals hosting this party.

Ella Fitzgerald croons out the words of “Night and Day,” and more people start dancing. The hosts move from partner to partner, encouraging those who wandered up alone to find someone to dance with. The woman in the green dress discovers that Ianto took ballroom dance classes once, although he’s a little stiff. She laughs, gives him a sip of the champagne she’s still holding, asks him to dance again as the music changes.

It’s a mix of songs, classic and new singers. Robbie Williams, Fred Astaire, Eva Cassidy, the list goes on. Robbie Williams is swinging the crowd with “Have You Met Miss Jones” when Owen shows up. He stares, dumbfounded, at the dancing crowd which has appeared over his office. Gwen spots him, and laughingly drags him to dance, the same way Jack dragged her earlier.

The members of Torchwood dance with each other and with complete strangers. Toch notices Jack dancing with the women in oyster; they are talking as they dance, and the ginger man winks at Jack. She wonders if he knows these people, but then a very, very handsome Scottish tourist asks her to dance, and she’s too busy to wonder any more.

It isn’t the Fifty-First century, but the dancers are apparently flexible. Here and there are young women dancing together and laughing. There’s a middle-aged male couple, dancing on the edge of the group while holding onto the leashes of their dogs.

Ianto stood out a dance, seemingly a little melancholy. A tinny brass band starts up, joined by strings and a French voice, and Jack wanders over to him. Ianto doesn’t want to talk, but neither does Jack. He just takes Ianto by the waist and starts slowly dancing with him, trying to give him a little of what Miss Piaf is singing about: la vie en rose.

The music and dancing go on as the sky grows dimmer, turning pink, orange, purple with the sunset. Random people rest on the red chaise-lounge; an old woman who remembers when some of these songs were new telling a young couple about her first dance, way back when. The four hosts in their vintage garb move through the crowd, dancing with each other and strangers, sharing their champagne surreptitiously with a chose few. No one goes back down to the base; they actually join a kickline during “Fly Me To The Moon,” which falls apart too soon due to excessive laughter.

Some of the songs are perfect for more complex dances, and the better dancers are given a sort of centre space to show off. Jack and the woman in green do a mean quickstep number, but are outshone by a pair of uni kids in Converse and blue jeans, who lindy-hop like they were born dancing.

Night starts to claim more of the heavens. People drift away, for dinner or other commitments. Some revert to watching, all danced out.

A van pulls up on the edge of the square, and a young woman in black climbs out. She collects the empty champagne bottles, takes them back to the van. Returning for the glasses, her job is delayed by a brief dance with the black-haired man in 1930s dress. They laugh over something, she finishes her work, then leans against the van to watch the last few dances.

When a piano begins to play “Moon River,” the hosts find their original partner, oyster dress with ginger and green dress with black hair. Tosh dances with Ianto, Gwen with Owen, and Jack is by himself. He gives the tech girl a small wave, and she waves back but declines the implicit offer to dance. He shrugs, sits on the chaise lounge, and leans back to look at the starts.

The music is done, with it the dancing. Night has settled in completely, shining down a three-quarter moon on the last cluster of dancers as they part ways. Four of the Torchwood crew move towards the door of the tourist information office, almost exhausted by content. Their leader stands from his seat to be enfolded in a hug by the woman in green. She whispers something in his ear that makes him smile. Her dancing partner gives the man out of time an affectionate kiss on the cheek, as do the woman in oyster and the ginger-haired man. The woman in black waves again, a parting gesture, as she comes to help carry the sofa and radio-speaker back to the van.

As he walks toward his waiting team, Jack hums “Moonlight Serenade”, bittersweet memories dancing through his mind.

**Author's Note:**

> You’re the Top – Cole Porter (De-Lovely soundtrack)  
> The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing – Danny Kaye (White Christmas soundtrack)  
> Night and Day – Ella Fitzgerald  
> You Don’t Know Me – Michael Buble  
> Have You Met Miss Jones – Robbie Williams (Bridget Jones Diary soundtrack)  
> Dance Me to the End of Love – Madeline Peyroux  
> You’re the Cream in My Coffee – Nat King Cole  
> La Vie En Rose – Edith Piaf  
> Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra  
> Cheek to Cheek – Eva Cassidy  
> Serenade in Blue – Glenn Miller Orchestra  
> I Concentrate on You – Fred Astaire  
> Moon River – Willie Nelson  
> Moonlight Serenade – BBC Orchestra


End file.
